Real Connections
by jacintos
Summary: There's more to Spinelli than people think. Can Maxie find out what's hidden inside? Will they make a real connection?
1. Spinelli's Blonde Ones

_Ok I'm back again. I've semi-recovered from Georgie's death glare. I've fallen for Spixie and I'm inspired these days, so here goes..._

Damien Spinelli was alone.

Ok, so he wasn't completely alone. There were other people in Kelly's, but despite how many people were around him, part of him always felt alone. He knew he was lucky to finally have people that really cared about him, but he knew that they didn't really know him. He couldn't tell them who he was inside. He was too afraid they'd leave him behind as well.

He grinned when she came bounding in, blonde hair bouncing happily on her head. He frowned slightly when his other blonde one walked in seconds later, not because he wasn't happy to see her, but because he really hated dealing with their fights

He rolled his eyes when he heard them exchanging verbal jabs, choosing to remain in his seat and focus on finding the evildoer that harmed the Little Dude.

Luckily, the fighting didn't last long. Lulu grabbed a coffee and left, while Maxie plunked down in the chair across from him.

"I really can't stand that bi-"

Spinelli cut her off with a glare.

"Ahem. I mean…how was your day?"

Spinelli raised an eyebrow and then smiled softly. Both girls had promised to try to keep him out of the middle. He was glad to see Maxie putting forth the effort.

"My day has been most busy. I've been following all clues in hopes of identifying the Evil Sniper of the Night to no avail. How about you? Has the Fashionista kept the Wounded Blonde One busy today?"

Maxie sighed. "Definitely. Working for Kate is hard, but it'll be worth it in the long run." She grinned. "Anyways, she let me go early. She had to attend some meeting with Sonny to discuss Michael's treatment."

Spinelli frowned. "I'm sure the Valkyrie will appreciate her presence."

"Hey, if Carly can have Jax AND Jason there, Sonny can bring Kate."

"Stone Cold is the Valkyrie's best friend and Uncle to Michael. And would you really expect Carly's husband to not be there?"

"And what's Kate, chopped liver? She's Sonny's-"

"Flavor of the year?" Spinelli chuckled.

Maxie raised an eyebrow. "And what do you know about Sonny's love life? You haven't been in Port Charles that long."

"True, but the Bodybuilding Bodyguard told the Jackal much about the Godfather's life. Let's see, there was Karen, Brenda, Lily, Hannah-"

"Ok I-"

"Angel, Alexis, Carly, Sam-"

"I get it."

"Reese, Kate-"

"Spinelli! One more name and I'll kill you." She glared at him.

He stared at her for a moment as if trying to decide whether she'd really kill him. Then he mumbled, "Claudia. "

Maxie threw a straw at Spinelli.

"Hey! Violence isn't the answer."

"Says the guy who works for the mob. Besides, what're you gonna do about it?" She stuck out her tongue.

Spinelli shook his head and tried to focus on his computer again.

"Hey Spinelli, you wanna hang out tonight?"

He looked up, slightly confused. "Huh?"

"I just figured we could watch some movies, order pizza, ya know…friend stuff?"

Spinelli pondered the concept for a few moments. "Hmm the Jackal thinks that could be fun."

Maxie grinned widely. "Great. I'll be over around 7."


	2. The Jackal and Mr Hide

Spinelli knew she wasn't the type to knock, but he was always amazed by her ability to just breeze past the guards. He walked over to meet her at the door.

"Wounded Blonde One, welcome to Stone Cold's humble abode."

"Yeah yeah. So do I get to enter this ridiculously pink room now?"

Spinelli rolled his eyes. "It's the regrettably pink room."

"Whatever."

He sighed. "Follow me." He led her upstairs and opened the door of his room. Maxie followed and chuckled softly when she noticed he'd put up tons of posters, most likely to hide the pink. Surveying the new terrain, she noticed that his room was much neater than she expected. She flopped down on his bed.

"So what are we watching?"

Spinelli grabbed his dvd case and sat next to her, flipping through the pages.

"I have Dazed and Confused, Friday, Half-Baked, Harold-"

"You're such a stoner." Maxie interrupted while grabbing the dvd case. She flipped a few pages until her eyes spied something that made her shriek. "Oh my God! You have The Notebook!"

"Er…yeah…um it was a gift…"

"Uh huh suuuure. We're so watching this." She stood to put it in the dvd player while Spinelli groaned.

Spinelli didn't cry. He felt sad, of course, but no tears would come. Of course, Maxie was a weeping mess. He handed her a box of Kleenex.

She looked at him incredulously. "God Spinelli, are you made of stone?"

He frowned. "No. The Jackal just tends to reserve his tears for real tragedies."

No words were spoken, but they both thought of innocent Georgie lying dead in the snow, her life gone for no reason whatsoever. Spinelli also reflected upon the events of his childhood that made it difficult for him to cry. He was taught at a young age not to waste his tears.

ding dong

Spinelli was shaken from his reverie. "Must be the pizza. I'll go retrieve." He scampered off.

Maxie smirked mischievously. She began poking around the room, looking for clues about Spinelli. Every now and then, she got glimpses of something more beneath the geeky exterior…something damaged. For some inexplicable reason, not knowing had been driving her crazy. As she poked through a messy desk drawer, she came across a man that looked a lot like Spinelli…well at least in the eyes anyway. She wondered if they were related. Maxie was still pondering this when Spinelli returned.

"What the hell are you doing?!" His eyes blazed with fury.

Maxie jumped. "Christ! You scared me. You could've given some warn."

His eyes pierced right through her. "Don't you dare try to turn this around on me." He snatched the photo from her hands, and placed it in a different drawer. Maxie found herself staring into remarkably deep eyes when he looked at her. "Don't you EVER dig through my stuff again."

Maxie was almost frightened by the way he looked at her. There was no light in his beautiful brown eyes. She knew she must've pushed too far. Maxie wouldn't lose Spinelli. She'd do anything to make it up to him.

"I'm really sorry Spin. I didn't mean to mess with your stuff. I just…I wanted to get to know you better. " She touched his arm softly and gave him a look of regret.

Spinelli wasn't sure when exactly it'd happened, but he'd become a sucker for her bright blue eyes.

He sighed. "It's fine. Just don't let it happen again."

Maxie catapulted herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I promise it won't happen again."

He chuckled softly. "Ok, ok. Let's eat."

They sat on the bed and started eating. When Spinelli began to open his orange soda, it promptly exploded all over his shirt. He blinked.

Maxie snickered.

Spin grabbed a paper towel and began wiping the shirt off.

Maxie gave him a look.

"You're not keeping that on.

"The Jackal has no more clean shirts."

"So put it in the wash"

"But what would the Jackal wear in the meantime?"

"Spinelli relax. You don't have anything I haven't seen."

Spinelli wasn't sure if that comment made him feel better or worse, but he figured he'd just go with it. Maxie's eyes widened as he took off his shirt. She'd seen him shirtless once before, and he'd only improved since then. The boy was definitely working out. It almost made Maxie want to pounce on him.

"Wounded Blonde One?"

"Yeah?"

"You're staring." Spinelli smirked.

"I-I am not!" She stammered. "I just…er"

"Uh huh. The Jackal is going to throw in his laundry now." He giggled as he walked off.


	3. Flirting?

After Spinelli left, Maxie leaned back against the headboard and groaned.

'What am I doing? This is Spinelli.' She shook her head.

Spinelli returned pretty quickly and sat next her. "So, what would the Wounded Blonde One like to watch now?"

Maxie munched on a piece of pizza. "I dunno. You pick."

Spinelli grinned. He knew most people probably thought he was afraid of his own shadow. Little did they know that he had a fascination with horror flicks. He popped in a dvd and watched Maxie's eyes widen slightly when she saw the title screen. He smirked.

"Everything ok?"

Maxie dropped her pizza and coughed. "Er…yeah. It's all good."

Feeling courageous, and riding on a bit of a shirtless high, Spinelli leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry. I'll protect you." He gave her a sexy smile.

Maxie didn't even know Spinelli had a sexy smile, and she was definitely confused by how such a dorky guy could make a simple whisper sound so amazingly hot. She smiled back at him, wanting to kiss him right then. She probably would've if that creepy as hell Jigsaw thing wasn't staring at her from the tv screen.

Spinelli didn't want to look away from Maxie, but he did it anyway. He started the movie and tried not to think about the growing feelings he had for the young fashionista. He knew that, despite whatever flirting they may have been doing (at least he thought they were flirting), she would never fall for a guy like him. Maxie liked the big protector types…cops…or bad boys. He held down the urge of vomiting when he thought of Maxie with Logan. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the movie.

Maxie became more and more freaked out as she watched the movie. She couldn't understand how decent human minds came up with this stuff. During a particularly scary scene, Maxie found herself clutching Spinelli's arm and burying her face in his shoulder.

"Easy there. Everything will be ok. It's just a movie."

"Uh huh."

"I promise." He smiled and wrapped an arm around her back, stroking softly.

Maxie sighed and relaxed a bit, eventually slipping into sleep.

Spinelli smiled when he realized her breathing had evened out and she was sleeping soundly on his chest. "Rest Sweet Maxie. The Jackal will keep you safe through the night." Spinelli softly kissed the top of her head, and shut his eyes, slipping into the land of dreams.

Maxie awakened with her eyes still closed, feeling more refreshed than ever. She didn't know when was the last time she'd slept so well. Her nights were usually plagued by thoughts of Georgie and Coop. She felt safe here, though she wasn't quite sure where here was. A deep breath coupled with a very masculine smell confirmed the presence of a boy. She'd always loved the distinctive smell of guys. She just hoped the guy she was with wasn't some awful one night stand…or worse, Logan Hayes.

Her eyes cracked open and she looked up to see Spinelli sleeping soundly. Suddenly, the previous night's events came flooding back to her. She smiled. A year ago, the same situation would have most likely disgusted her, but now she derived comfort from being wrapped in his remarkably strong and capable arms. She loved the way strands of his shaggy brown hair fell just above his eyes.

And she certainly loved the view of his bare chest. She wondered if he had gym dates with "Stone Cold." She grazed a hand over his abs thinking about how much she wanted to kiss them.

"Oh yeah!" Spinelli exclaimed.

Maxie sat up straight. "Is it like your life mission to scare the crap out of me or something? You could've told me you were awake."

Spinelli sat up next to her. "Nah. The Jackal likes being hit on by the Wounded Blonde One. Can't blame you after all. Who wouldn't wanna get with the Ace of Cyberspace?" He winked at her.

Maxie glared in disbelief. "I am NOT hitting on 'The Jackal'. Why would I waste time on that when I could have Johnny?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Maxie regretted them. She watched his happy face fall, and the darkness returned to his eyes.

"Spin I'm-"

"I need to go get my laundry." He crawled out of the bed before she could say another word.

Maxie groaned sadly. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings…well she did, but only because she didn't want him to think she was interested in him…even if she was.


	4. Making Amends

AN: Yes I know it's short, but I need to figure out where I wanna go next hehe.

Maxie sat in Spinelli's room for a bit contemplating what to do next. She didn't know why she kept messing things up with him. Eventually, she decided to go downstairs and talk to him. She found him in the living room folding his laundry.

Cautiously, she approached. "Listen Spin, I'm sorry."

No response. Not even a glance in her direction.

Maxie rolled her eyes and thought, 'Great.' She tried again, stepping closer. "I'm really REALLY sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I was just…I dunno. I can't explain it, but it was wrong and I'm sorry."

Spinelli stopped folding and looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "The Jackal supposes he can forgive the Wounded Blonde One AGAIN."

Maxie grinned. "Yeah I tend to put people in that position a lot."

"I suppose I should've known that." Spinelli pulled on a t-shirt.

Maxie couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed as he covered his nicely toned body. She shook her head, trying to displace the thoughts. "Tell ya what, why don't we go down to Kelly's and I'll buy you a make-up breakfast?"

"Hmm. The Jackal most definitely accepts Maximista's most generous offer."

Maxie shook her head again as she grabbed her purse. "Anybody ever tell you that you sound entirely too much like Bill and Ted?"

"Meh I've only watched that movie like once."

Maxie raised an eyebrow.

Spinelli coughed. "Ok, so maybe it was a few more than one time."

"Just how many is a few?"

"Ahem…92…moving on." He barreled out the door.

Maxie just laughed and followed him to the elevator. She felt the need to make something clear before they left. "Hey Spin."

"Yeah?" He stepped in the elevator.

Maxie stepped in next to him. "Just so you know…I'd never pick Johnny over you."

Spinelli didn't look at her, choosing to focus on the buttons of the elevator instead. "The Jackal knows." Truthfully, Spinelli wasn't so sure he believed her, but he'd go with it for the moment. He was still pretty sure Maxie would never be interested in him romantically, and one or the other, he was going to be ok with it. He wasn't going to chase after her like he chased Lulu. He didn't need to be smacked in the face by reality again. He knew he didn't measure up to what people wanted. He just hoped he was enough to keep Maxie around.


	5. Oh Facebook

Spinelli was majorly tempting her. And the worst part?

He probably had no clue what he was doing to her. She couldn't help but stare as the damp white tee he wore clung to his body. They'd had to make a run for it from Kelly's to her house, and he'd quickly volunteered to let her take command of his umbrella to protect her gorgeous outfit. As a result, he'd gotten rather soaked. She offered to get him something of Mac's to change into, but Spinelli didn't feel too good about that plan…especially after the way Mac had threatened him at the police station.

Oh Maxie gave it to her dad good for that one. Poor Spinelli hadn't meant to tell her of the occurrence, but once she found out, she blazed into the PCPD and yelled at Mac for no less than a half hour. Of course, he still wasn't too fond of her friendship with Spinelli, but she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going to give the little hacker up.

Thus, there Spinelli sat on the couch next to her, looking somewhat like a drowned puppy…a very adorable drowned puppy that is.

"What?"

Maxie shook her head. "Huh?"

Spinelli smirked. "You were staring again."

Maxie rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, whatever. I was just thinking about hot designers that have a thing for cute blondes."

Glaring, Spinelli poked her.

"Did you just…poke me?"

Spinelli shook his head. "Nah. Do we I look a facebook application to you?" He stuck his tongue out.

"You're gonna get it." Maxie pounced on him, tickling away.

"Ahhhh." Spinelli twisted and turned under her until he couldn't take it anymore. He shifted his body so that he was on top, and pinned her hands above her.

Maxie writhed underneath him, trying to break free, and it was all Spinelli could do to keep his body in check.

"Maximista should most definitely stop moving about like that."

"Like wha-?" And suddenly she saw it…a look she'd seen in the faces of other boys before, but never Spinelli. With other guys, she knew just what to do to make them make that face, but she'd gotten Spinelli there with almost no effort at all.

She chuckled and moved. "You mean, like that?"

Spinelli glared at her expression of mock innocence. "You are nothing but trouble."

"Yeah but you love me anyway." Maxie gasped slightly. She hadn't really meant to say that…well at least not in that particular situation.

Spinelli's expression softened. "I do indeed."

Maxie looked deep into his eyes, trying to figure out if he'd just made the declaration she thought he did. She didn't have much time to think though because Spinelli began leaning in. He paused, mere centimeters from her lips.

"What?"

He looked at her cautiously. "I just…I need to know that I'm not alone in this."

Maxie looked from his eyes to his lips once and then repeated the action. She knew what he needed. He needed her to make a move. The only question is was she ready to go the distance.


End file.
